Relish Product Review: Rio – A Taste of Brazil

With the focus (due to  a certain sporting event) having been on Brazil for a while now  – it was timely for me to sample the Brazilian Cooking Sauces from Rio.

I have to confess to not having much knowledge of Brazilian Cuisine, so it was with interest and intrigue that I looked at the selection of Rio Sauces before me.  With bright, vibrant packaging and wonderfully exotic names such as Moqueca, Amendoim and Bife de Panela I was already expecting bags of flavour before I even took off the jar lids. 

Being a lover of peanuts I tried the Amendoim Sauce first which is a coconut milk and peanut sauce with a hint of lemon and ginger.  I served it with chicken and rice, per one of the suggested serving suggestions and it was delicious – really creamy, but with the hint of fresh ginger and zingy lemon making sure that it wasn’t too sweet.  There was also a lovely little kick from the chillis.  I think  it would have also been delicious served with vegetables and pasta – and ideal for the vegetarian members in my family as the sauce is suitable for vegans -and also gluten free.

The next sauce I tried was the Moqueca -which I learnt is a very popular traditional dish in Brazil.  It’s a coconut milk based sauce with lemon and coriander and was really tasty served on my fish – again just enough kick to add that bit of zing!  And so easy to cook too – all you have to do is pour the sauce in a pan and add the fish fillets and cook for about 10 mins – simples!

I have yet to try the Bife de Panela which is a tomato sauce with onion, green pepper and a hint of cumin – but based on the other two I am sure it is going to be a winner!

My introduction to Brazilian cooking has been fantastic – and I will certainly now be keen to eat more of this cuisine – the tastes are as colourful as the culture.

To find out more about the range of Rio sauces, visit http://www.rio-tasteofbrazil.com/